Sunday, January 4, 2009

It’s a whole new year, and that means it’s time to vote for the office of President of Cartoonists Northwest! Come to the January 17 meeting to meet the candidates and exercise your franchise! Will current Prez Keith Curtis be unseated, and if so, by whom? Whatever the outcome, plan to attend and be a part of CNW history in the making. Consider running for office yourself! It’s a wide open race. The choices are yours, the politics will be minimal, and thus too will be the drama. Why, CNW doesn’t even have any political parties! No, all we have is… the re-booted holiday party! Last month’s meeting and party was cancelled due to bad weather, as you will recall. Now, let’s try that once more, with feeling. Come and wish your cartooning colleagues the belated joys of the season! We’ll run through the voting, and a short agenda, and then dive right into the festivities. Enjoy snacks and drinks (sorry, no alcohol allowed). Feel free to contribute to the goodies table by bringing food to share with the group! CNW will provide drinks and utensils. We’ll play a hilarious round of “Quick Draw”. And that’s not all! Bring a wrapped gift and play the “White Elephink” gift-exchange game! Here are the rules:

Participants bring their wrapped (but not labelled) gift to add to "the pile." Gifts should be inexpensive, humorous items or used items from home. The term “white elephink”, besides paying homage to the Popeye-speak of master cartoonist Elzie Segar, refers to a gift whose cost exceeds its usefulness. (Kind of like having J. Wellington Wimpy for a friend. But we digress.)

All participants draw a number from a hat. The participant with #1 unwraps any gift from the pile and then shows it to everyone. Each successive participant can either 1) "steal" an already opened gift or 2) be adventurous and pick out a wrapped gift from the pile. If the participant chooses to steal, the person whose gift is stolen now repeats their turn and either 1) steals another person's gift (they cannot immediately steal back the gift that was just stolen from them) or 2) unwraps a new gift. This cycle of stealing continues until a new gift is chosen, at which point the turn is passed to the participant with the next number from the drawing.

Since items can be stolen, the item in your possession is not yours until the game is over (e.g., a food item cannot be eaten until the game is over). However, a gift is declared "safe" after it has been stolen three times. If it’s edible, you may then eat it. If it’s not edible, you can still eat it. Your choice!

ALSO ON THE AGENDA: • Cartoonists review each others’ work and vote for ‘Best of the Northwest’. Bring your art and enter the friendly competition!• Other news and stuff, guaranteed to be of a cartoonishly edifying nature!

Use main entrance at corner of Alaskan Way and Vine St. Street parking is free beginning at 6 p.m. (PSSST: Best bets are meters along Elliott. Alternatively, there is a paid parking garage on Elliott two blocks south of Vine.)